Spotted Foam-nest Frog

Spotted Foam-nest Frog

Leptodactylus insularum

Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Soberanía National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

35 Verified sightings at Soberanía National Park From 2019 to 2026
78 In all 4 parks
August Best month
🌙 Nocturnal When it's spotted

About the Spotted Foam-nest Frog

Leptodactylus insularum (San Miguel Island frog or Caribbean ditch frog) is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. The species is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. Scientists suspect it might also live in Bolivia.

The adult male frog measures 66–104.6 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 60.4–99.1 mm. The skin of the dorusm has several folds and dark marks on it. There is a dark line from the nose to each eye. The backs of the legs have a dark pattern on them with light spots in irregular shapes. The flanks are light brown with dark brown spots. The belly is very light brown in color. The adult frogs use the aposematic coloration on their legs to confuse predators.

These frogs live in forests near streams. Scientists saw the frog in many protected places. The adult frogs eat water insects, such as those of the families Elateridae, Formicidae, Belastomatidae, and Lycosidae. The tadpoles feed on decaying matter, often things that have fallen into the water.

The male frog makes a foam nest for the eggs. The female frog can lay 2000 eggs per clutch. The female frog... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:17

Colombia · 2025

EstebanMH · iNaturalist · CC0

Recording0:15

Panama · 2024

© Hubert Szczygieł · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:28

Panama · 2026

© Chris Harrison · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
2 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
3 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
4 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Spotted Foam-nest Frog in Soberanía National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Foam-nest Frog sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 34 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Spotted Foam-nest Frog in Soberanía National Park?

August

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Foam-nest Frog in Soberanía National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Soberanía National Park's wettest months, with about 320 mm of rain against 25 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Spotted Foam-nest Frog?

Between 7 and 10 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Foam-nest Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.

Is Soberanía National Park the best place to see a Spotted Foam-nest Frog?

3rd of 4

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Spotted Foam-nest Frog sightings, Soberanía National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombia, about 40%) and Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Spotted Foam-nest Frog live in Soberanía National Park?

Same genus: Leptodactylus

The closest relatives of the Spotted Foam-nest Frog that you can see in Soberanía National Park (genus Leptodactylus, Neotropical Grass Frogs) are Savage's Thin-toed Frog (about 30%) and Mexican White-lipped Frog (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Spotted Foam-nest Frog sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Spotted Foam-nest Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Soberanía National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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